THE NATURAL 



act is accomplished. Fabre has seen better. The mantis 

 is almost the only insect with a neck; the head does not 

 join the thorax immediately, the neck is long and flexible, 

 bending in all directions. Thus, while the male is enlac- 

 ing and fecundating her, the female will turn her head 

 back and calmly eat her companion in pleasure. Here is 

 one headless, another is gone up to the corsage, and his 

 remains still clutch the female who is thus devouring him 

 at both ends, getting from her spouse simultaneously the 

 pleasures ac mensa ac thoro, both bed and board from 

 her husband. The double pleasure only ends when the 

 cannibal reaches the belly: the male then falls in shreds 

 and the female finishes him on the ground. Poiret has 

 witnessed a scene perhaps even more extraordinary. A 

 male leaps on a female and is going to couple. The 

 female turns her head, stares at the intruder, and decapi- 

 tates him with a blow of her jaw-foot, a marvellous 

 toothed-scythe. Without disconcertion the male, wedges 

 up, spreads himself, makes love as if nothing abnormal 

 had happened. The mating took place, and the female 

 had the patience to wait for the end of the operation 

 before finishing her wedding breakfast. 



The headless nuptials are explained by the fact that the 

 insects' brain does not seem to have unique control of its 

 movements; these animals can live without the cervical 

 ganglion. A headless grasshopper will still lift his 

 bruised foot to his mouth, after three hours, with the 

 movement familiar to him in his complete condition. 



The small mantis, or colourless mantis, is almost as 

 fierce as her great sister, the religious mantis; but the 

 empuse, a kindred specie, seems peaceful. 

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